The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1887-10-26
REV. DR.. TALMAGE.
THE BROOKLYN DIvINE'S SUN
DAY SERMON.
Subject: "Unoccupied Fields"


TEXT: "L,est should build upon another
mans foundation. Romans XIV, 20.
Stirring reports come from all parts OF
america showing what great work the
churches of God are doing, and | congratu-
late them and their pastors. Misapprehen-
sions have been going the rounds of some OF
the religious press depreciating the gener-
oSity of this church S1Sl ,3lG.A have been
paid cash down in this church for religious
uses and Christian work during the nineteen
years of my ministry here This church was
built by all denominations of Christians and
by people from all lands, and hence we have
been raising money for many objects outside
our denomination, and that has sometimes
*interfered with our contributions to the
Boards Of our denomination. Subscription
books for all gool objects Christian humanl-
tartan, collegiate, and missionary, have been
Ehere as common as the daylight, and no
church in Chr.Stendom has been more con-
tinuous in its benevo.ences than this. Be-
side that we have received during the year
72S souls on profession Of faith in Christ,
Fact that mention, not in boasting, but to
$how that this church has not been idle.
kThe most of our acceSSons have been from
Che outside world, so that, taking the idea OF
amy text, we have not been building on other
Peoples foundations
In laying out the plan Of his missionary
tour Paul sought out towns and cities which
had not yet been preached to. He goes to
Corinth, city mentioned for splendor and
vice, and Jerusalem, where the priesthood
and the Sanhedrim were ready to leap with
both feet upon the Christian religion. He
feels he has especial work to do, and he means
Ito do it. What was the result: The grand
est life of usefuhe S that man ever lived.
I'VE modern Christian workers ars not apt 10
imitate Paul. We build on other peoples
foundations. If we erect church we prefer
to have it filled with families, all of whom
have been pious Do we gather Sabbath
Dchool class, we want good boys and girls,
hair combed, faces washed, manners attract
i've. So church in this day is apt to be
built out of other churches. Some ministers
spend all their time in fishing in other peo-
ple's ponds, and they throw the line into that
church pond and jerk out Methodist, and
throw the line into another church pond and
bring out Presbyterian, and there is re,
Aigious row in some neighboring church, and
|a whole school Of fish swim off from that
pond, and we take them all in with one sweep
Of the net What is gained {? Absolutely
nothing for the general cause OF Christ. !t
as only as in an army, when regiment IS
ltransferred from one division to another,
from the Tennessee to the Potomac.
] What strengthens the army is new recruits.
What / have always desired is that while we
lare courteous to those coming from other
locks we build our church not out Of other
(churches, but out of the world, lest we build
on another mans foundation. The fact is
this is e big world. When, in our schoolboy
days, we learned the diameter and clrcumfer-
erce Of this planet we did not learn half. 1t
has latitude and longitude and diameter
and circumference Of want and woe and sin
THAT no figures can calculate. This one spir-
Ritual continent of wretchedneSS reaches across
lRll zones, and f I were called to give its geo.
graphical boundary would say it is bounded
ION the north and south and east and west by
1.-The great heart of Gods sympathy and love.
3Oh, tits great world, Since . o'clock this
morning 60, 800 persons have been born, and
ali these multiplied populations are to be
reached of the Gospel In England, or
I'm our eastern American cities, we
are being much crowded, and an acre OF
&1round is of great value but out West 5OO
acres is small farm, and 10000 acres is no
unusual possession. But there is vast spin
Ritual field here and everywhere unoccupied,
plenty of room for more not building on
another mans foundation.
We need, as churches, to stop bombarding
fthe old ironclad sinners that have been proo-
Fagainst thirty years Of Christian assault.
Alas for that church which lacks the spirit OF
|evangelism, spending enough on one chande-
1ier to light 500 souls to glory, and in one
carved pillar enough to have made thousand
men "pillarS in the house OF our God Tor
ever,n and doing less good than many log
cabin meeting house, with tallow candles
stuck in wooden sockets and minister who
has never seen college or known the differ
ence between Greek and Choctaw. We
need as churches to get into sympathy
with the great outside world, and let them
know that none are so broken hearted or
hardly bestead that will not be welcomed.
"Nor' says some fastidious Christian, II
don't like to be crowded in church. Don't
put any one in my pew" My brother, what
will you do in heaven! When a great null
titude that no man can number assemblies
they will put fifty in your pew. What are
the select few to-day assembled in the Chris
tian churches compared to the mghtier mill
jons outside of them, eight hundred thousand
Nm Brooklyn, but less than one hundred
athousand in the churches' Many OF the
churches are like hospital that should adver-
tise that its patients must have nothing
worse than toothache or 'run-rounds," but no
broken heads, no crushed ankles, no fractured
- thighs. Give us for treatment moderate sim
ners, velvet coated sinners and sinners with
"a gloss on. 1t is as though man had 81
farm of three thousand acres and put oil his
work on one acre. He may raise never so
large ears Of corn, never so big heads Of wheat,
he would remain poor. The church of God has
#sbestowed its chief care on one acre, and has
raised splendid men and women IN that small
inclosure; but the field is the world. That
means North and South America, Europe,
Asia and Africa and all the islands OF the
sea. It is as though after great battle there
were left 81, ,0)O wounded and dying on the
field, and three surgeons gave all their time
to three patients under their charge. The
Major General comes in and says to the doc
tors: 'tCome out here and look at the nearly
$50, 900 dying for lack of surgical attendance" "
s'No," say the three doctors, standing there
flaming their patients, 1--WE have three I'M
tportant cases here, and we are attending to
Them, and when we are not positively busy
with their wounds, it takes all our time
to keep the flies off. >" In this awful bat
tie Of sin and sorrow, where millions have
fallen on millions, do not let us spend all our
time in taking care of few people, and when
the command comes: $50 into the world, VI
say practically, ,"No, cannot go; I have here
a few choice cases, and l am busy keeping of
the flies" There are multitudes to-day who
have never had any Christian worker look
them in the eye, and with earnestness in the
,accentuation, say: "Come!" or they would
long ago have been in the kingdom. My
II friends, religion is either sham or tremen
ldous reality If it be sham, let US disbano
our churches and Christian association. II
lie be q reality, then great populations are or
the way to the bar OF God untitled for thu
ordeal, and what are we doing!
In order to reach the multitude OF out
siders we must drop all technlcahtieS out
our religion. When we talk to people abou
the hypostatic union and French Encyclo
pedianism, and Erastinianism, and Comp!u
ttensianism. we are as impolitic and httl
undersuood as II physician should talk to an
ordinary patient about the pericardium and
intercostal muscle, and scorbutic symptoms.
Many of us come out Of the theological semi
naries so loaded up that we take the first ten
years 70 show our people how much we know,